Skip to main content

Open Access Publishing

Open Access (OA) is a publishing model that makes research available at no cost to the reader. There are various different models within Open Access publishing, but the following are most common:

  • 'Gold' Open Access: Where a publisher makes the work openly available on publication, either through a fully Open Access journal (no subscription required to access any articles published avoiding ‘double dipping’), or by making a single article Open Access in an otherwise subscription journal (these are referred to as 'hybrid' journals). There is usually an Article Processing Charge (APC) for the author to pay with Gold Open Access.
  • 'Diamond' Open Access: Similar to Gold Open Access, except that the journal does not charge any APCs because the cost of Open Access has been subsidised. For example, Cardiff University Press who "do not charge the authors and editors of journals and non-book series for publishing with [them] (Diamond Open Access), whether they are affiliated with Cardiff University or not."
  • 'Green' Open Access (also known as 'self-archiving'): Where the author deposits their accepted manuscript in an institutional or personal repository following any embargo periods required by their publisher. After which time the paper is freely available through the repository but is behind a paywall on the publisher website.

To ensure your journal or publisher choice is compliant with the your organisation or funders' Open Access Policy requirements and are published with the correct licence, authors are encouraged to use the SHERPA/ROMEO service or Diamond OA: Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) to identify journals. If you want to publish in an Open Access, this site provides a checklist to help judge the credentials of a publication. Think! Check! Submit!  https://thinkchecksubmit.org/

For alternative ways to assess value in Journals please see University of Cambridge Guidance. 

 

Depositing your Open Access works

If you regularly publish papers, make sure you have your ORCID to take control of your name. This free tool will ensure that you get credit for your work.

Any papers that you decide to publish Open Access can be deposited in either an institutional or personal repository. Your employing organisation may have a repository or, if you have received funding, the funder will outline requirements for where the paper should be deposited. If neither option is available to you then you could consider using ResearchGate to manage your list of publications. Depending on the method of Open Access chosen you may be able to add the full text work to ResearchGate to share your work with others. Please refer to the publishers' policies to identify whether this can be done.

Videos on Open Access Publishing

What is Open Access and why is it important (26:20)

Choosing The Right Journal (28:06)

 

Definitions

Term Definition
Article Processing Charge (APC) A fee which is sometimes charged to authors, funders or institutions to publish Open Access. This is usually through a fully Open Access journal or a hybrid journal
Double Dipping Double dipping arises when a library pays to subscribe to a journal, but that journal also charges authors, including authors from that institution to publish Open Access through an article processing charge (APC) while not providing a proportionate decrease in subscription costs. As a result, the library or wider institution is paying twice to access the article, once through the subscription and once through the payment of an APC
Hybrid Journal A hybrid journal is a subscription journal where individual articles can be published Open Access on the payment of an article processing charge (APC). Some publishers recognise the extra cost burden on institutions with hybrid journals by offering ‘offset’ discounts
Open Access Journal Open Access journals are journals in which all the articles are available Open Access (not behind a pay wall). There is no cost to the reader to access an Open Access Journal. The business model of these journals is either through support from learned societies, professional organisations, or institutions, where there is no cost to the author (Diamond OA), or through article processing charges (APCs) to authors which are generally met by funder grants or organisation Open Access publishing funds